One of two Mount Holyoke College teams won the Tournament of Champions Pre-Season Classic at St. Andrews Presbyterian College on September 22nd. Head Coach C.J. Law stands at far right while Assistant Coach Gillian McPhee is on the far left. In between is 'Team McLovin,' which beat out Virginia Intermont's Gold Team and Mount Holyoke's 'Team Superbad' for high point honors.

MOUNT HOLYOKE PREVAILS, ALSO TAKES THIRD

Laurinburg, NC - If you follow the IHSA Tournament of Champions series, you are probably aware that Virginia Intermont College has dominated these invitationals for the past three seasons. Save for the fall 2006 Pre-Season Classic, Virginia Intermont had won five of the last six Tournament shows.

If you keep tabs on the runner-up you might recall that Mount Holyoke often holds either second or third place at these invitationals. On September 22nd Mount Holyoke was in fact third with their 'Team Superbad' at the 2007 Pre-Season Classic hosted by St. Andrews.

However Mount Holyoke had two teams in the competition, with their 'Team McLovin' scoring 39 points to win the competition outright. Virginia Intermont had a pair of teams in the competition as well, with their 'Gold' team second at 34.

UNC-Charlotte graduate Sarah Wooley (on left) saw her unbeaten streak at Tournament of Champions shows come to an end. But at least it was another Charlotte rider who took home the blue ribbon. Maggie Wahl (center), a UNC-Charlotte junior who used to ride for Virginia Intermont won the Tournament of Champions medal class. Wooley was eleventh out of 29 riders while Wahl's teammate Courtney Guerin (right) was tenth.

Tournament of Champions shows use the same rules as IHSA Zones and Nationals, so each team was made up of eight riders (sometimes the same rider rode in both the flat and fences however). Six of the nine schools present had two teams in the competition, thus giving six schools the chance to enter as many as sixteen of their riders at the Tournament. Separate from the team classes was the Medal Division, which included riders from many of the schools in attendance (some of which were entered only in the Medal class) as well as a pair of Ohio University entries who traveled to Laurinburg without the rest of the Bobcats. 29 riders took part in the flat phase of the Medal division, which takes the place of all ride-offs and any alumni divisions at a Tournament show. 14 of the 29 riders were then called back for the jumping phase. Judge Sarah Good, who along with John Roper judged 2004 IHSA Nationals in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, had the option to call back five riders for further testing but decided against it. Tops in the Medal division was Maggie Wahl, one of five University of North Carolina at Charlotte entries in the division. It was a good day all around for Wahl, a former Virginia Intermont rider who finished second in open fences and third in open flat for the Charlotte team named the '49ers,' which is the schools' regular nickname.

Charlotte's 49er team finished fifth overall with 27 points, with junior Rebecca Bergman earning a blue ribbon in the day's final class, section B of novice fences. The other Charlotte team, known as 'Rush' did not strike as much gold though senior Bethany Coogle delivered a fine ride to win the second section of intermediate fences. "This kid busted her butt," said UNC-Charlotte Head Coach Shirley Murphy of Coogle, the Mooresville, North Carolina native collecting seven of the Rush's ten points with the first.

During the first hour of the show it looked as though one of the schools with only one group of riders might win. Cornell University, normally known as the Big Red but re-named the Equi-Hippies for today's contest, earned blue ribbons in novice flat via sophomore Zoe Samuel and in open flat via junior Dana Kendrick over the course of the first three classes (and the Equi-Hippies' first two rides). However Cornell would earn only one more blue ribbon as the day wore on, with junior Marie Ceranowicz first in section A of walk-trot sometime later. When the dust settled Cornell was one of only four teams (three schools) to reach the 30-point plateau, earning exactly 30 in what will be their only IHSA competition until the Zone 2, Region 3 season opener at Hartwick on October 27th.

Cornell had finished second at the Holiday Tournament of Champions last December, and early on looked like the team to beat. Head Coach Chris Mitchell helps sophomore Zoe Samuel (right) hold up her saddlepad and blue ribbon won in novice flat. Dana Kendrick (not pictured) won open flat shortly thereafter to keep Cornell undefeated through two divisions.

One wonders if Cornell had brought two teams how well might a second group have faired? Only two of the six schools with a pair of teams managed to make the top eight with both. The Virginia Intermont Gold team briefly had the lead following firsts from Jennifer Kelly (in walk-trot-canter) and Brittany Denton (in open fences). However due to a quirk in the schedule the Gold team had no riders in any of the next seven classes after having had four riders compete in the first five sections. Eventually senior Jessica May won the intermediate over fences to earn the Gold team a third blue ribbon, but by this time second was the only option. Amy Shanihan finished the scoring with a red ribbon in novice fences, giving the Gold 34 points and Virginia Intermont the red ribbon overall as well. VI sophomore Chelsea Dressler also won a division, the Covington, Virginia resident tops in walk-trot-canter for the Virginia Intermont Black team which settled for eighth place and 23 points overall.

Third place Mount Holyoke could claim more blue ribbons than first place Mount Holyoke, as 'Team Superbad' was represented in the winner's circle by both junior Dani Corkill in intermediate flat and senior Kate Miller in walk-trot. What ultimately made a winner out of team McLovin (apparently there is a movie by the name of 'Superbad' which features a character named 'McLovin' - Editor) was their ability to earn more red ribbons than anyone else. Tattie Singer (open flat), Meghan Keene (intermediate flat), Michelle Piccione (novice flat) and Lora Ciborowski (novice fences) all placed second in their respective divisions for McLovin. Highly-touted freshman Lindsay Sceats was the lone member of McLovin to win a blue ribbon, the Colorado Springs, Colorado native best in a field of seven to win the second section of open fences. 'Superbad' did very well, earning 31 points for third and scoring in seven of the eight divisions. 'McLovin' was superior, earning no less than third in any of the eight divisions to win by five over VI Gold (McLovin and VI Gold were the only teams to earn points in all eight divisions - Editor).

Four other riders amongst the remaining teams were also blue ribbon winners. Hilary Brown, one of four Maryville College freshman competing in today's show, won her section of novice fences for the Scots who were making their Tournament of Champions debut. From Knoxville, Tennessee, Brown also finished third in the section of novice flat that Piccione earned reserve in. That section of novice flat went to Hollins junior Mallory Pottock. From Boulder, Colorado Pottock helped lead the Hollins 'Green' team to 20 points and tenth place overall. Host St. Andrews had two teams in the competition, with the 'Knight Riders' besting the 'Scottish Equestrians' by a 26-17 score. The difference for the Knight Riders were senior Jamie Nickolson, a winner in intermediate fences and freshman Lindsey Gates, whose first in open flat gave St. Andrews the early lead as her blue ribbon came in the first class of the day.

From Ventura, California, St. Andrews Presbyterian College freshman Lindsey Gates (right, with Head Coach Peggy McElveen) won the first class at the Tournament, best in a field of eight in open flat to start the day. Gates was one of two St. Andrews riders to win a division for their 'Knight Riders' team, which eventually finished in sixth place with 26 points.

Goucher College also had a pair of teams in today's competition, with their 'Blue Meanies' better than their 'Turtle Snappers' by a 24-17 margin. Top ribbon-winners for the Blue Meanies were a pair of 'Sarah's,' with senior Sarah Pandolfini second in novice flat while junior Sarah Ashby was second in walk-trot-canter. The Blue Meanies were seventh overall, a point better than VI's Black team and two points behind St. Andrews' Knight Riders and the green ribbon.

The final school with only one team on hand was the Virginia Tech Hokies. Listed in the program as 'Hokie Nation,' Virginia Tech was led by juniors Sonja Boras (in open fences) and Michelle Walker (in walk-trot), each of whom placed fourth in their respective divisions. The Hokies were technically 13th overall, with 14 points. Virginia Tech, along with Virginia Intermont, St. Andrews and North Carolina at Charlotte will be back in action eight days after the Pre-Season Classic, as the Hokies will host the first Zone 4, Region 3 show of the 2007-08 season on the final Sunday in September.

Medal division mystery solved: 15 riders competed in section A of the Medal flat phase while 14 were scheduled for section B. 14 of these 29 riders were to be called back for a jumping round. However when numbers (and not names) were read over the loudspeakers one of the 14 selected had the number '287,' which threw everyone for a loop as no one competed in the division with that number. To make things more confusing, Singer had competed in the first open class of the day wearing 287, but had a different number, 282, for the Medal division (this too was a mistake - but printed as such in the official program - as all riders were supposed to wear the same number throughout the day. Singer did nothing wrong as the program listed her number as 287 for open flat and 282 for section B of the Medal). After conferring with judge Good it turned out that rider 280 should have been the 14th rider selected, which was good news for Singer's teammate Amanda Pettingill, who was given time to re-dress and mount up.

When the Medal division was pinned seven schools could claim riders in the top 12, with UNC-Charlotte usurping a quarter of the ribbons. Sarah Wooley, who graduated from Charlotte last May, saw her string of blue ribbons at various Tournament shows come to an end with an eleventh. 49er senior Courtney Guerin was tenth while Wahl won outright. Freshman Karen Useman was the lone Virginia Intermont medal entry to make the top 12, coming in at number 12. Ohio University junior Kati Cibon, who competed for the Cacchione Cup at each of the past two IHSA National shows, and teammate Whitney Yoder placed seventh and eighth, respectively. Hollins riders held down fifth and ninth places, with sophomore Katie Furches earning the former and newcommer sophomore Alyssa Ollwerther earning the latter. Singer, wearing 282, took sixth place while Mount Holyoke teammate and open rider Tracey Mack was third overall. Brittany Martin of Goucher was fourth while Kendrick earned reserve champion honors in the Medal division. It was an interesting day for Kendrick, who lost a button off her hunt coat while winning the open flat but incredibly was able to find it in the ring later on. However the button could not be re-attached so Kendrick wore teammate Samuel's coat to second place in the Medal division.

Common Horse/Rider Names?: Though she did not make the Medal callback, Mount Holyoke freshman JoJo Gutfarb will likely remember the name of her first IHSA draw. Though St. Andrews used dozens of horses in the competition, their horse named 'JoJo' happenned to be Gutfarb's selection out of the hat!

From Auburn, New York, Virginia Intermont senior Jessica May won the next-to-last class of the day, the intermediate fences. Between their 'Gold' and 'Black' teams, Virginia Intermont won four blue ribbons, the most of any school at today's competition.

Planning ahead: If not for good fortune Mount Holyoke might not have competed at the Pre-Season Classic. Perhaps concerned about traffic leading to Boston's Logan Airport during the morning rush hour, the Mount Holyoke bus departed campus at 5:00AM, four hours before their flight was scheduled to take off. Normally a 90 minute drive across most of the Massachusetts Turnpike without traffic, there was indeed a bump in the road. The Mount Holyoke bus broke down halfway to Boston, causing a mad scramble to find another bus. Though they sat idle on the side of the turnpike for over an hour, another bus - with a police escort - transported Teams McLovin and Superbad to Logan in time for check-in and the flight to Raleigh-Durham.

Planning even further ahead: There will be two more Tournament of Champions shows during the 2007-08 season. The first will be the Holiday Tournament of Champions on December 1st and 2nd in Long Valley, New Jersey, with Centenary College the host. Virginia Intermont has won the Holiday Tournament show each of the past three seasons. The Holiday show will not feature the same format as today's competition, as the top three riders in each division on December 1st will return to the ring on December 2nd for an additional class. Therefore several teams might receive record high scores, with points from both days counting towards the overall total.

There will be a first of sorts in January, when the third Tournament show of 2007-08 takes place January 26th. For the first time in IHSA history a prep school will be the site of a Tournament of Champions show. Chatham Hall in Chatham, Virginia, in cooperation with the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, will host the Tournament with a format similar to the one used at St. Andrews. Chatham Hall school has a strong IEA team and their facility will likely rival some of the elite IHSA barns. Considering that several schools declined invitations to the Pre-Season Classic with the common "We are not ready, but let us know about the other Tournaments" response, the turnout in Long Valley and Chatham will likely be huge. And if enough schools accept invitations perhaps everyone would be limited to only one team of eight riders, making the competition even more competitive. Considering that the Pre-Season Classic was a close race, we advise potential Tournament teams start checking flights into Newark-Liberty or Dulles now and be part of the only series of shows prior to Zones and Semi-Finals which truly have the feel of a National competition.

--Steve Maxwell

(Correction: The original version of this story indiciated that Hollins won the Fall 2006 Pre-Season Classic, when in fact Mount Holyoke won, giving the school from South Hadley, Massachusetts two wins in the past four Tournament of Champion events. Special thanks to Mount Holyoke Assistant Coach Gillian McPhee for pointing this out - Editor)

Show Incidentals: Partly Sunny Skies, High Temperature in the low 90's. Start time: 9:32AM. Finish: 3:40PM - Includes several breaks for removal of jumps and dragging of the ring. Judge: Sarah Good, Kansas City, Missouri. Stewards: Chris Mitchell/Cornell University, Teresa McDonald/Virginia Tech and Nancy Peterson/Hollins University. This show was Hunter Seat or English only.

Class-by-class results, in the order in which they were held:

Open equitation on the flat - Section A: 1. Lindsey Gates, Saint Andrews Presbyterian College - Knight Riders. 2. Tattie Singer, Mount Holyoke College - Team McLovin. 3. Ashley Miller, Virginia Intermont College - Black. 4. Ashley Tardiff, Maryville College - Scots. 5. Susan Wilson, Virginia Tech - Hokies. 6. Cady Klimas, Goucher College - Turtle Snappers.

Novice equitation on the flat - Section A: 1. Zoe Samuel, Cornell University Equi-Hippies. 2. Sarah Pandolfini, Goucher College - Blue Meanies. 3. Caralie Cahill, Mount Holyoke College - Team Superbad. 4. Julianne Wilson, Virginia Intermont College - Gold. 5. Lauren Ryalls, Virginia Tech - Hokies. 6. Emily Mendalssohn, Hollins University - Gold.

Open equitation on the flat - Section B: 1. Dana Kendrick, Cornell University Equi-Hippies. 2. Katie Furches, Hollins University - Gold. 3. Maggie Wahl, University of North Carolina at Charlotte - 49'ers. 4. Amanda Pettengill, Mount Holyoke College - Team Superbad. 5. Brittany Martin, Goucher College - Blue Meanies. 6. Brittany Denton, Virginia Intermont College - Gold.

Walk-trot-canter equitation on the flat - Section A: 1. Jennifer Kelly, Virginia Intermont College - Gold. 2. Katie Lavery, Saint Andrews Presbyterian College - Scottish Equestrians. 3. Caitlin Dickinson, Mount Holyoke College - Team McLovin. 4. April Kerns, Goucher College - Turtle Snappers. 5. Sarah Olson, University of North Carolina at Charlotte - Rush. 6. Anna Guastello, Virginia Tech - Hokies.

Open equitation over fences - Section A: 1. Brittany Denton, Virginia Intermont College - Gold. 2. Maggie Wahl, University of North Carolina at Charlotte - 49'ers. 3. Tracey Mack, Mount Holyoke College - Team Superbad. 4. Brittany Martin, Goucher College - Blue Meanies. 5. Janelle Harcus, Saint Andrews Presbyterian College - Knight Riders. 6. Katie Furches, Hollins University - Gold.

Novice Equitation on the flat - Section B: 1. Mallory Pottock, Hollins University - Green. 2. Michelle Piccione, Mount Holyoke College - Team McLovin. 3. Hilary Brown, Maryville College - Scots. 4. Audrey Bolte, Saint Andrews Presbyterian College - Knight Riders. 5. Courtney Levine, Goucher College - Turtle Snappers. 6. Amanda Shamer, Virginia Intermont College - Black.

Open equitation over fences - Section B: 1. Lindsay Sceats, Mount Holyoke College - Team McLovin. 2. Kelsi Peterson, Saint Andrews Presbyterian College - Scottish Equestrians. 3. Cady Klimas, Goucher College - Turtle Snappers. 4. Sonja Boras, Virginia Tech - Hokies. 5. Ashley Miller, Virginia Intermont College - Black. 6. Emmy Sartain, University of North Carolina at Charlotte - Rush.

Walk-trot-canter equitation on the flat - Section B: 1. Chelsea Dressler, Virginia Intermont College - Black. 2. Sarah Ashby, Goucher College - Blue Meanies. 3. Megan Stiles, Saint Andrews Presbyterian College - Knight Riders. 4. Emily Coler, Mount Holyoke College - Team Superbad. 5. Lauren Wu, Cornell University Equi-Hippies. 6. Keely Comstock, Hollins University - Gold.

Walk-trot equitation on the flat - Section A: 1. Marie Ceranowicz, Cornell University Equi-Hippies. 2. Michelle Wynn, Virginia Intermont College - Black. 3. Ashely Burka, Mount Holyoke College - Team McLovin. 4. Michelle Walker, Virginia Tech - Hokies. 5. Florence Wojcik, Saint Andrews Presbyterian College - Scottish Equestrians. 6. Lori Scott, Goucher College - Turtle Snappers.

Intermediate equitation on the flat - Section A: 1. Dani Corkill, Mount Holyoke College. 2. Courtney Guerin, University of North Carolina at Charlotte - 49'ers. 3. Stacy Zimmerman, Hollins University - Gold. 4. Julie Fink, Goucher College - Blue Meanies. 5. Jennifer Hurst, Maryville College - Scots. 6. Amber Buklis, Virginia Intermont College - Black.

Walk-trot equitation on the flat - Section B: 1. Kate Miller, Mount Holyoke College - Team Superbad. 2. Adam Myers, Maryville College - Scots. 3. Stephanie Ostericher, Hollins University - Green. 4. Jaime King, Virginia Intermont College - Gold. 5. Jessica Randall, Saint Andrews Presbyterian College - Knight Riders. 6. Anna Griffin, University of North Carolina at Charlotte - 49'ers.

Intermediate equitation on the flat - Section B: 1. Bethany Coogle, University of North Carolina at Charlotte - Rush. 2. Meghan Keene, Mount Holyoke College - Team McLovin. 3. Mandy Lynch, Hollins University - Green. 4. Ashley Cass, Cornell University Equi-Hippies. 5. Kelly Usher, Goucher College - Turtle Snappers. 6. Jessica May, Virginia Intermont College - Gold.

Medal Division: 1. Maggie Wahl, University of North Carolina at Charlotte. 2. Dana Kendrick, Cornell University. 3. Tracey Mack, Mount Holyoke College. 4. Brittany Martin, Goucher College. 5. Katie Furches, Hollins University. 6. Tattie Singer, Mount Holyoke College. 7. Kati Cibon, Ohio University. 8. Whitney Yoder, Ohio University. 9. Alyssa Ollwerther, Hollins University. 10. Courtney Guerin, University of North Carolina at Charlotte. 11. Sarah Wooley, University of North Carolina at Charlotte. 12. Karen Useman, Virginia Intermont College.

Intermediate equitation over fences - Section A: 1. Jamie Nickolson, Saint Andrews Presbyterian College - Knight Riders. 2. Rachael Allen, University of North Carolina at Charlotte - 49'ers. 3. Claire McMahon, Goucher College - Turtle Snappers. 4. Dani Corkill, Mount Holyoke College - Team Superbad. 5. Brett Flowers, Virginia Tech - Hokies. 6. Mandy Lynch, Hollins University - Green.

Novice equitation over fences - Section A: 1. Hilary Brown, Maryville College - Scots. 2. Lora Ciborowski, Mount Holyoke College - Team McLovin. 3. Caroline Taylor, Saint Andrews Presbyterian College - Scottish Equestrians. 4. William Brown, Virginia Intermont College. 5. Lindsay Little, Hollins University - Gold. 6. Allison Jones, Virginia Tech - Hokies.

Intermediate Equitation over fences - Section B: 1. Jessica May, Virginia Intermont College - Gold. 2. Brynn Hoffman, Hollins University - Gold. 3. Ainsley Cathcart, Mount Holyoke College - Team McLovin. 4. Boo Geisse, Goucher College - Blue Meanies. 5. Ashley Cass, Cornell University Equi-Hippies. 6. Audrey Hayden, Saint Andrews Presbyterian College - Scottish Equestrians.

Novice equitation over fences - Section B: 1. Rebecca Bergman, University of North Carolina at Charlotte - 49'ers. 2. Amy Shanihan, Virginia Intermont College - Gold. 3. Abby Gonzales, Hollins University - Green. 4. Sarah Pandolfini, Goucher College - Blue Meanies. 5. Christine Garvey, Cornell University Equi-Hippies. 6. Audrey Bolte, Saint Andrews Presbyterian College - Knight Riders.

Team Totals: Mount Holyoke College - Team McLovin (High Point Team) 39; Virginia Intermont College - Gold (Reserve) 34; Mount Holyoke College - Team Superbad 31; Cornell University Equi-Hippies 30; University of North Carolina at Charlotte - 49'ers 27; Saint Andrews Presbyterian College - Knight Riders 26; Goucher College - Blue Meanies 24; Virginia Intermont College - Black 23; Maryville College - Scots 21; Hollins University - Green 20; Saint Andrews Presbyterian College - Scottish Equestrians 17; Goucher College - Turtle Snappers 17; Virginia Tech - Hokie Nation 14; Hollins University - Gold 11 and University of North Carolina at Charlotte - Rush 10.